Which is better for you: farm raised or wild caught fish?

By ESTHER DAVIDOWITZ and JOHN PETRICK

staff writers |

The Record

So you decide to be good and eat protein-, nutrient- and vitamin-rich fish twice a week, as the American Health Association says you should. But as with all things supposedly healthy, confusion abounds.

AP FILE PHOTO

A worker feeds fishes as seagulls fly over a fish farm in the village of Kassiopi, in the Ionian island of Corfu, northwestern Greece

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ELAINE ISAACSON/ STAFF ARTIST

From the fishmongers of Fair Lawn to the marine biologists of Rutgers University, trying to determine which type of fish is better for you — wild-caught or farm-raised — is about as daunting as a task faced by a school of Killies trying to swim their way upstream against the current.

"There's no free lunch," said Joanna Burger, professor of biology at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

Why is it so complicated? Both farm-raised and wild-caught fish have their downside. Antibiotics and hormones on the farmed side. Mercury and high cost on the wild-caught side. Ecological damage on the farmed side. Leaner and potentially less beneficial omega-3 oils on the wild. And to complicate things further, these cons don't hold true for every farm-raised and wild-caught fish.

Still, wild fish is probably better, though not everyone agrees. The reason?

Like chickens in cages, farmed fish too are kept in cages (or huge tanks) in rivers, lakes, ponds, bays and oceans. And like caged chickens, they often are packed in tightly. Consequently, some experts say, farmed fish are not only more stressed but more prone to get sick. They also may swim in potentially dirtier waters (that is, water contaminated with their feces). Which is why some fish farm operators use antibiotic drugs to protect their fish.

Fish farms may also use hormones to help their fish grow bigger, pesticides to keep the water clean, and artificial dyes to give their fish a brighter color, reported Angela Langner, registered dietitian and nutritionist for the Nutrition Center of Bergen County in Ridgewood and Englewood. And some farmed fish are fed diets of corn, soy or other feedstuff that contain little or no omega-3 fatty acids, the prized heart-healthy fats in fish. (Some feedstuff, some claim, may also contain mercury.)

"You don't want fish with hormone injections, added color, antibiotics," said John Ciravolo, who as the owner of Seafood Gourmet Restaurant and Fish Market in Maywood, has been selling fish for 27 years. "It's not a good product." He especially eschews fish farmed in Southeast Asia and China. "Tilapia that comes from China," he said. "Forget it. It's not even fish. It doesn't taste like fish." The predominant cultured fish today are catfish, tilapia, salmon and striped bass.

However, more and more farms, especially farms in the United States, don't ply their fish with antibiotics or use dyes, hormones or chemicals in their farms, experts say. Ciravolo, for example, sells farm-raised Scottish salmon that, he assured, have "no hormones, no chemicals, no beta-carotene [red-orange pigmentation added]." And salmon, nutritionists say, is a very healthy fish. "It has lots of omega-3s, it's low-cal and high-protein," Langner said.

Getting a bad rap

Gef Flimlin, professor and marine extension agent at Rutgers University's Cooperative Extension of Ocean County, maintains that farm-raised fish have gotten a bad rap. "Technology is changing," Flimlin said. "Farmers don't willy-nilly give fish antibiotics: That's just too expensive. I've never heard of hormones or dyes given to fish in the U.S. And the water in fish farms is circulated and kept clean. Yet people go on and on about this kind of stuff." For example, he said, some farm-raised fish may receive perfectly harmless natural coloring to make them look better ("Like Perdue fed their chicken natural marigold extract to make them more yellow," he noted). Not to mention that fish farms satisfy a real worldwide need: Thanks to the fact that so many fish have been overfished and their numbers depleted, fish farms replenish the stock. Farmed fish also happen to be more affordable.

"Wild fish can be two to two-and-a-half times more expensive than farmed," said Steven Sclafani, co-owner of Peter's Fish Market in Midland Park. He noted that at his shop, he was selling farm-raised mid-Atlantic salmon for $14.99 and wild California salmon for $30.99.

On its website, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) assures that there are "strict regulations" of and "rigorous standards" for fish farms in the U.S., and that "the use of antibiotics and other drugs has been reduced dramatically." However, nearly 90 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, often from countries that don't have strict standards, the National Aquaculture Association notes on its website.

Thus, many don't trust fish farms.

"I'm not comfortable with farm-raised," said Peter Panteleakis, executive chef at Oceanos restaurant in Fair Lawn and Taverna Mykonos restaurant in Elmwood Park. "There are thousands and thousands of fish farms. Maybe you can count on one hand the number of good ones. I'm much better with wild fish. The water is cleaner, the fish are out in the ocean, and they're down at the bottom, eating the good stuff," he said. Popular wild items, he said, include black sea bass, halibut, grouper, red snapper, scallops, and shrimp. "We also sell a lot of swordfish – 200 pounds of it a week," he said.

While the manufactured environment of fish farms may not be Panteleakis' preference, the ocean doesn't exactly let all seafood lovers off the hook, either.

The mercury problem

"Mercury is a common constituent in sea water," Burger said. "The older the fish, or the larger the fish, the higher the mercury level." Fish that live long and high on the food chain such as tuna, swordfish, shark and tilefish, tend to contain more mercury than other fish. And mercury can have detrimental health effects. Studies have shown that children of mothers who ate lots of mercury tended to have lower IQs and slower motor skills. And as for adults: mercury poisoning may impair peripheral vision; cause "pins and needles" feelings in the hands and feet, and impair speech, hearing, and walking.

"The rule is, predatory fish accumulate more contaminants than non-predatory fish," Burger said. Such fish as bass, flounder and fluke are good choices, she said, because they dwell at the very bottom of the ocean and they tend not to live very long, therefore they don't have enough time to accumulate mercury. Sardines and mackerel are good as well.

But experts assure you'd have to eat large portions of fish every day to be impacted by mercury or for that matter any contaminants in fish. Which is not a huge problem, certainly not in America. In 2012, the most recent year for which figures are available, the average consumer ate 14.4 pounds of seafood, according to the U.S. Commerce Department (far short of the 6 to 8 ounces a week – 19.5 to 26 pounds a year — of fish recommended today by health experts). That's down from 15 pounds in 2011 and a record high 16.6 pounds in 2004. It also pales in comparison to the average 82 pounds of chicken, 57 pounds of beef and 46 pounds of pork the average U.S. consumer eats each year, according to the Commerce Department.

Different in taste?

Can you taste the difference between farm-raised and wild? "Yes," declared Panteleakis, "there's a difference. A big difference. Wild fish tastes like the ocean. The other one tastes like whatever food they give it … chicken or whatever."

However, there are different points of view even on taste. Fishmonger Sclafani prefers farm-raised fish. "Farm-raised has more flavor," he said. "Wild tastes a bit dry." And then there's nutritionist Langner, who admitted, "To be honest, I can't tell the difference."

OK. So, which is the right choice?

"At the end of the day, fish in general is a good choice," said Rebecca Hirsch, oncology dietitian at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center.

Indeed, experts say, fish is generally so healthy – it is packed with protein, vitamins and nutrients – that the benefits of eating contaminated fish way outweighs the risk. "It is so much better than a Big Mac," nutritionist Berger said.

Which is better for you: farm raised or wild caught fish?

A worker feeds fishes as seagulls fly over a fish farm in the village of Kassiopi, in the Ionian island of Corfu, northwestern Greece

By ESTHER DAVIDOWITZ and JOHN PETRICK

staff writers |

The Record

So you decide to be good and eat protein-, nutrient- and vitamin-rich fish twice a week, as the American Health Association says you should. But as with all things supposedly healthy, confusion abounds.

From the fishmongers of Fair Lawn to the marine biologists of Rutgers University, trying to determine which type of fish is better for you — wild-caught or farm-raised — is about as daunting as a task faced by a school of Killies trying to swim their way upstream against the current.

"There's no free lunch," said Joanna Burger, professor of biology at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

Why is it so complicated? Both farm-raised and wild-caught fish have their downside. Antibiotics and hormones on the farmed side. Mercury and high cost on the wild-caught side. Ecological damage on the farmed side. Leaner and potentially less beneficial omega-3 oils on the wild. And to complicate things further, these cons don't hold true for every farm-raised and wild-caught fish.

Still, wild fish is probably better, though not everyone agrees. The reason?

Like chickens in cages, farmed fish too are kept in cages (or huge tanks) in rivers, lakes, ponds, bays and oceans. And like caged chickens, they often are packed in tightly. Consequently, some experts say, farmed fish are not only more stressed but more prone to get sick. They also may swim in potentially dirtier waters (that is, water contaminated with their feces). Which is why some fish farm operators use antibiotic drugs to protect their fish.

Fish farms may also use hormones to help their fish grow bigger, pesticides to keep the water clean, and artificial dyes to give their fish a brighter color, reported Angela Langner, registered dietitian and nutritionist for the Nutrition Center of Bergen County in Ridgewood and Englewood. And some farmed fish are fed diets of corn, soy or other feedstuff that contain little or no omega-3 fatty acids, the prized heart-healthy fats in fish. (Some feedstuff, some claim, may also contain mercury.)

"You don't want fish with hormone injections, added color, antibiotics," said John Ciravolo, who as the owner of Seafood Gourmet Restaurant and Fish Market in Maywood, has been selling fish for 27 years. "It's not a good product." He especially eschews fish farmed in Southeast Asia and China. "Tilapia that comes from China," he said. "Forget it. It's not even fish. It doesn't taste like fish." The predominant cultured fish today are catfish, tilapia, salmon and striped bass.

However, more and more farms, especially farms in the United States, don't ply their fish with antibiotics or use dyes, hormones or chemicals in their farms, experts say. Ciravolo, for example, sells farm-raised Scottish salmon that, he assured, have "no hormones, no chemicals, no beta-carotene [red-orange pigmentation added]." And salmon, nutritionists say, is a very healthy fish. "It has lots of omega-3s, it's low-cal and high-protein," Langner said.

Getting a bad rap

Gef Flimlin, professor and marine extension agent at Rutgers University's Cooperative Extension of Ocean County, maintains that farm-raised fish have gotten a bad rap. "Technology is changing," Flimlin said. "Farmers don't willy-nilly give fish antibiotics: That's just too expensive. I've never heard of hormones or dyes given to fish in the U.S. And the water in fish farms is circulated and kept clean. Yet people go on and on about this kind of stuff." For example, he said, some farm-raised fish may receive perfectly harmless natural coloring to make them look better ("Like Perdue fed their chicken natural marigold extract to make them more yellow," he noted). Not to mention that fish farms satisfy a real worldwide need: Thanks to the fact that so many fish have been overfished and their numbers depleted, fish farms replenish the stock. Farmed fish also happen to be more affordable.

"Wild fish can be two to two-and-a-half times more expensive than farmed," said Steven Sclafani, co-owner of Peter's Fish Market in Midland Park. He noted that at his shop, he was selling farm-raised mid-Atlantic salmon for $14.99 and wild California salmon for $30.99.

On its website, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) assures that there are "strict regulations" of and "rigorous standards" for fish farms in the U.S., and that "the use of antibiotics and other drugs has been reduced dramatically." However, nearly 90 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, often from countries that don't have strict standards, the National Aquaculture Association notes on its website.

Thus, many don't trust fish farms.

"I'm not comfortable with farm-raised," said Peter Panteleakis, executive chef at Oceanos restaurant in Fair Lawn and Taverna Mykonos restaurant in Elmwood Park. "There are thousands and thousands of fish farms. Maybe you can count on one hand the number of good ones. I'm much better with wild fish. The water is cleaner, the fish are out in the ocean, and they're down at the bottom, eating the good stuff," he said. Popular wild items, he said, include black sea bass, halibut, grouper, red snapper, scallops, and shrimp. "We also sell a lot of swordfish – 200 pounds of it a week," he said.

While the manufactured environment of fish farms may not be Panteleakis' preference, the ocean doesn't exactly let all seafood lovers off the hook, either.

The mercury problem

"Mercury is a common constituent in sea water," Burger said. "The older the fish, or the larger the fish, the higher the mercury level." Fish that live long and high on the food chain such as tuna, swordfish, shark and tilefish, tend to contain more mercury than other fish. And mercury can have detrimental health effects. Studies have shown that children of mothers who ate lots of mercury tended to have lower IQs and slower motor skills. And as for adults: mercury poisoning may impair peripheral vision; cause "pins and needles" feelings in the hands and feet, and impair speech, hearing, and walking.

"The rule is, predatory fish accumulate more contaminants than non-predatory fish," Burger said. Such fish as bass, flounder and fluke are good choices, she said, because they dwell at the very bottom of the ocean and they tend not to live very long, therefore they don't have enough time to accumulate mercury. Sardines and mackerel are good as well.

But experts assure you'd have to eat large portions of fish every day to be impacted by mercury or for that matter any contaminants in fish. Which is not a huge problem, certainly not in America. In 2012, the most recent year for which figures are available, the average consumer ate 14.4 pounds of seafood, according to the U.S. Commerce Department (far short of the 6 to 8 ounces a week – 19.5 to 26 pounds a year — of fish recommended today by health experts). That's down from 15 pounds in 2011 and a record high 16.6 pounds in 2004. It also pales in comparison to the average 82 pounds of chicken, 57 pounds of beef and 46 pounds of pork the average U.S. consumer eats each year, according to the Commerce Department.

Different in taste?

Can you taste the difference between farm-raised and wild? "Yes," declared Panteleakis, "there's a difference. A big difference. Wild fish tastes like the ocean. The other one tastes like whatever food they give it … chicken or whatever."

However, there are different points of view even on taste. Fishmonger Sclafani prefers farm-raised fish. "Farm-raised has more flavor," he said. "Wild tastes a bit dry." And then there's nutritionist Langner, who admitted, "To be honest, I can't tell the difference."

OK. So, which is the right choice?

"At the end of the day, fish in general is a good choice," said Rebecca Hirsch, oncology dietitian at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center.

Indeed, experts say, fish is generally so healthy – it is packed with protein, vitamins and nutrients – that the benefits of eating contaminated fish way outweighs the risk. "It is so much better than a Big Mac," nutritionist Berger said.